event 27 Jun 2016

Call for Proposals // Working Groups for Sustainable Water Future Programme (Water Future) of Future Earth

The Sustainable Water Future Programme (Water Future) of Future Earth, a major global platform for integrated research on global water, is calling for proposals to form different working groups that will develop the research programme of Water Future. The Nexus and related topics are among the priority areas of research. Submission deadline: 15 July 2016

Logo waterfuture sustainable water future programme
The priority areas are:
  • Water, Sanitation, and Health
  • Water Quality and Ecosystem
  • Balancing Water Needs for Humans and the Environment
  • Groundwater Management
  • Freshwater Systems and Deltas
  • Understanding Human values of the Freshwater Systems in the Anthropocene
  • Urban Water System
  • Transboundary Water
  • Sustainability in the Water-Energy-Food Nexus
  • Climate Risk and Adaptation/ Coping with Hydrological Variability Research proposals in similar areas of study are also welcome

Future Earth and Water Future

Future Earth and Water Future are not funding bodies but are supported by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the International Social Science Council (ISSC), the Belmont Forum of funding agencies, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations University (UNU), and the World Meteorological Organisation. Water Future builds on more than a decade of coordinated international research of the Global Water Systems Project (GWSP) to study the complex global water system with its interactions between natural and human components and their feedback processes. The work of GWSP established that human activities in the Anthropocene have greatly impacted the global water system and changed the way water moves around the globe as never before. Managing freshwater in the planetary water cycle has become a key challenge for global environmental sustainability. Water Future addresses this challenge by providing the knowledge and support to understand the state of global water and to develop potential policy solutions, including co-designing improved, evidence-based solutions that support sustainable development trajectories. The Water Future Programme will provide the mechanisms and frameworks that facilitate greater cooperation and collaboration across academia, industry, and government at the local, national and global scale. This will increase the cross-fertilisation of ideas and, in particular, a much more rapid and effective translation of research outputs through to business and governance outcomes and opportunities.

Working Groups

Working Groups of Water Future will develop research strategies and activities in accordance with the programme’s agenda. Other than basic research, each of the working groups will contribute to the key initiatives of Water Future – the Global Water System Assessment Initiative and Water Solutions Lab Network, which will integrate a broad international science, policy and practice community. Regional centres and the international secretariat will be responsible for the coordination of the working groups and their key initiatives to help define their roles. The groups should be interdisciplinary and consist of members from all over the globe, integrating the natural and social sciences, legal and governance expertise, economics and technology to address solutions to the multi-faceted global water problems.
  • Topics should be global in scope
  • Water Future will help to facilitate the creation of working groups among researchers with similar proposal interests
  • Groups should be 15 to 20 people maximum of three years duration.
  • The leader or chair of each working group will be part of the Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) of Water Future
  • The themes described above are not really silos and instead, connect to any other themes.
Water Future aims to connect problem identifiers with solution identifiers, knowledge generators and knowledge implementers while focusing on integrated solutions to develop knowledge-to-concrete actions and find solutions through the co-production of knowledge involving scientists and other stakeholders. The WGs are encouraged to engage relevant stakeholders in their activities (co-design and co-production) from policy development, government agencies, and non-governmental organisations including business groups and non-profits, and other representatives of civil society.

Benefits

Working groups in Water Future will form part of a platform for integrative research on the global water system with leading organisations. This will increase the visibility of the working group to different stakeholders (governments, funding agencies, and donors) as part of an authoritative global water platform for science-driven sustainable solutions. Other Benefits include:
  • Water Future’s support in organising workshops and conferences
  • Assistance in the dissemination of key results to improve translation from research to outcomes
  • Promote awareness of research activities amongst the relevant science communities and funding agencies in the region
  • Develop research proposals, and help to mobilize external research funding
  • Opportunities to expand the scope of research through contributions in Global Water System Assessment, and strong links to global water policy makers, business and practitioners in society through active participation in the Water Solutions Lab Network (WSLN)
  • Support from the International Modelling and Data team
  • Collaboration with other relevant working groups and projects under Future Earth
  • Enhanced visibility through promotion of events and research on the Water Future website, and through print and online publications.
Water Future will help the working groups secure external funding to organise workshops and cover meeting costs such as participants’ travel and accommodation expenses. Water Future does not allow the use of funds for overheads incurred by the host institution. Please note, it is the responsibility of organisers to generate most of the funding necessary for the meeting. Submit Proposals Working Groups form

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